Bunny Suits

Originally published: August 12th, 2019

The second half of my surgery ring has been highlighted by my time on rotation with ENT and the surgical oncology / HPB service. Both of these experiences were high-volume, fast-paced, and based almost entirely around time in the OR. As I am strongly interested in ENT, I made it a goal of mine for that week rotation to make connections within the department to give myself a leg up next year during application season. Similarly with surgical oncology, I wanted to learn as much as I could in the OR during my last few weeks of the ring, as I knew I wouldn’t be seeing significant OR time again until possibly my 4th year. With both of those goals in mind, I’ve come to realize that these past few weeks have highlighted the competency of professionalism and it’s importance in my medical education.

The ENT rotation had optional morning rounds – if you were a student interested in that as a career, you were welcome to come, otherwise the expectation was that you would show up to the OR later in the day. I knew I would want to round with the team, and it that was my first opportunity to make a good impression. I studied hard each night for the following day’s patients and cases, and made sure I had all the necessary supplies for wound dressing changes on rounds. Beyond that, however, I tried to understand the residents on the service to see if it was a culture that I could see myself a part of for five plus years. I already knew that I liked the pathophysiology and treatment of ENT patients. But in light of this idea of professionalism, I wanted to understand what it would be like to be a professional in that atmosphere. How did the residents work together? What was the resident-attending relationship like? Were they working long hours but passionate about their work, or burnt out? I came in with the mindset of wanting to answer these questions alongside the desire to make myself known to the department, and I think I made good progress in both regards. I left at the end of the week with a firmer grasp on what a life in ENT would entail and continued to hone my professionalism skills alongside people who could someday be my colleagues.

Four weeks on surgical oncology is a long time. 3:45am wakeups and most of the day on my feet in the OR has worn me out. Despite that, I’ve come to realize how much I’ve learned during my time here. In breast cases I’m getting pimped on risk factors and treatment plans while also working on my OR etiquette, relationship with attendings, and surgical skills. Professionalism in the OR is hard to learn from a lecture. From meeting and interacting with the scrub tech and nurses to learning how and when to assist the surgeon throughout the case, it has become a delicate balance of wanting to learn as much as I can while also understanding my role as a student. I know that this duality of learning and assisting will continue through residency, and I still sometimes struggle with knowing when to speak up, when to take initiative, and when to let others guide me. With certain attendings, I’ve come to understand their flow in a case, and have worked on anticipating their next move to have supplies or an extra set of hands at the ready. The sense of community can vary from OR to OR, but I do know that it will be important for me to understand my role in that space and continue to work on interacting with and fitting in alongside all of the professionals in the room.

During my General Surgery weekend call, we we waiting for a Level 1 trauma in the bay. There were contact precautions, and one of the nurses thought it was funny that we were all in our bunny suits. I’m in the center, appearing to be working on my professionalism!